Colleges are currently involved in an epic struggle to keep students enrolled. One reason for student attrition involves non-academic issues such as executive functioning. In the present study, we investigated how journaling helped influence paradigm shifts in students' thinking regarding a growth mindset towards their educational performance. We used a multiple case study approach with four students from a large urban community college to explore their paradigm shifts toward a growth mindset. We found that the students' reflective journaling effectively augmented their metacognitive awareness (the ability to think about their thinking) because the students started to realize how their thoughts were not in sync with their behaviors. Consequently, these students were then able to shift their thinking as it related to success in their academic endeavors. These findings present the opportunity to gain insight regarding college retention by examining the powerful ways journaling can connect students to their thinking and behavior.